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Life On Lookout

Coach Dockery Retires from Lookout Mountain Rec Department

31-Aug-2017by Merrell McGinness

On a warm July morning, Coach Rick Dockery is straightening up the Parks & Playground toolshed. With torrential rains and baseball tournaments for the past three weeks he’s been juggling schedules, dealing with sink holes and cutting down or trimming trees. Pretty soon he’ll hop on the riding mower, a machine he’s logged thousands of miles on during his 36 year career.

The week was even more hectic than usual because it was one of his last. This summer Dockery stepped down as Director of Parks & Playground, with his assistant Scott Shell stepping into the director role. Newcomer Brandon Adams was hired as the new Assistant Director.

There isn’t anything I won’t miss,” says Dockery. “It’s always one challenge after another, and the manual labor can be tough. But at same time I’ll miss that too.

The job has been demanding from day one. When working under Director Buck Stamps in the early ‘80s, the two men personally coached every sport, working six days a week for 10 years without a vacation or sick day.

On his first day Dockery met LMS principal Marvin Lane, who almost immediately noticed Dockery’s aptitude for teaching. They began talking about the possibility of bringing him into the classroom, and before long Dockery was coaching three teams and taking night classes for his teaching certificate. Even so, he says there’s never been a single day he didn’t want to come to work.

I’m surrounded by the best group of people,” he says. “I’ve always felt supported by the community, by parents and even the kids. So in that sense it’s been easy. And I certainly haven’t done it alone. I’m grateful for people like Susan Taylor and Lee Dyer, who have contributed so much as volunteers.

Dockery started full-time at Lookout Mountain School in 1990, where he will continue teaching for this school year. His work in youth sports has impacted thousands of children – some who’ve gone on to play in college or even professionally. But he was virtually a kid when he started in 1981, just five years older than the 16 year olds he was coaching.

“I’ve always tried to treat the kids like they’re my own,” he says. “Sometimes they think of me as a strict disciplinarian, but at same time I always try to put my arm around them. The times I’ve had with the kids – the jokes, the stories – still brings laughter to me years later.”

In his career Dockery has overseen the rebuilding of the baseball fields alongside Ryan Crimmins, as well as a recent $380,000 tennis court renovation with the help of Joe Hailey. He teamed up with Brooke Pippenger several years ago to rebuild the “Mountain Maze” playground at the Commons. But the highlight was having his son go through the Rec program, during which time they played in two Dixie Youth World Series.

The travel those years to Arkansas and Virginia were some of Dockery’s only times out of Tennessee during his career. He has plans for much more travel In retirement, including the Grand Canyon this fall.

Coach Dockery’s influence on Lookout Mountain’s youth sports will be greatly missed, by both parents and kids. He assures us the feeling is mutual.

I’m going to miss everything – but I’ve still got another year at LMS,” he adds with a smile.